Mets closer Frank Francisco may have dreamed of turning the clubhouse chicken — dubbed “Little Jerry Seinfeld” — into a tasty soup, but the fowl is now safely in the hands of a committed vegan.

“I’m an animal lover and a huge Mets fan so this was a perfect match,” said Lower East Side resident Jeffrey LaPadula, who was guarding the now-famous bird yesterday before its big trip to an upstate sanctuary.

Fellow reliever Tim Byrdak had bought the clucker at a Chinatown market for $8 last week as a good-luck prank on Francisco’s taunt — first reported by The Post — that the Yankees are nothing but “chickens.”

When Byrdak passed on keeping the bird, “I told them I’d love to help,” said LaPadula, who will drive the chicken to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen where she will live out her days.